Let the countdown officially begin! We are less than a week away from setting sail on the 3rd annual Katinas & Friends Cruise. When we first came up with the idea of hosting our own cruise we weren’t quite sure what we were getting into. Although we have been and continue to be involved with some of the larger Christian music cruises it is a whole new ballgame when you are the one solely responsible for the planning, promoting, and production. Our initial goals were to make the cruise family friendly, affordable, and intimate. It was also extremely important for us to provide the right balance of spiritually edifying activities and also give everyone the opportunity to just let go and have fun, this is a vacation after all! It has been a learning experience for us but according to the feedback we have received from the first two cruises we succeeded in providing a memorable experience and everyone has said it was a good investment of their time and money.

Perhaps the one description that comes up the most from previous cruisers is “intimate”. Through the course of the cruise our group partakes in morning devotions, daily activities, meals, and evening celebrations that consist of music, games, and fellowship. When we embark on the cruise we arrive as a diverse group of strangers, however by the time the cruise is over there truly is a unique bond shared by all and we are truly a family. We are reminded of this bond whenever we run into one of our past cruisers when we are on tour at a church service or concert, it is like seeing an old friend or family member.

While we are well aware of the times and economic stressed you are under, we want to encourage you to pray about participating in our 4th annual Katinas & Friends Cruise in 2010. Being a whole year away there is plenty of time to start budgeting right now to make it happen. Several of the families on the cruises have told us they plan on scaling down their Christmas festivities and apply that money towards making the cruise an annual family tradition. Their reasoning is that the experience and memories from the cruise will last longer than any clothes, toys, etc. that they would be spending money on at Christmas. Regardless of your financial strategy, we promise that the sacrifices you make to be a part of this memorable event will be worth it!

The Katinas, an award-winning contemporary Christian pop-rock group, are five brothers whose vocals are smooth like jazz, with instrumentals that pump your endorphins.

They’ll bring their unique mix for two concerts Monday to Monte Vista Chapel in Turlock. Quimi, a Modestan who had her first CD produced by the group, will share the stage. The evening will include a lineup of Christmas tunes and songs from The Katinas’ recently released CD, “Still.”

The brothers — Sam, 42; Joe, who turned 39 Thursday; twins James and John, 36; and Jesse, 34 — were born in Southern California when their Marine father was stationed at Camp Pendleton. They moved to American Samoa, their parents’ home country, after their father’s military service was complete.

Together with their older brother, Dave, they began a worship band. Dave was called to pastor a church in Hawaii, while the five others eventually signed with a record label and moved to Nashville. They live with their wives and 16 children, with an 17th on the way, within 10 to 15 minutes of one another.

On Thanksgiving and Christmas, the family gathering includes the brothers, their wives and children, and some cousins and their families — “quite a wild madhouse,” one said.

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We would like to give a BIG congratulations to Shelby Ward of West Paducah, KY. We are looking forward to meeting her and hanging out with her and the entire family in the comforts of their living room. It has been an honor to partner with American Family Radio in promoting our latest project, “STILL”. American Family Radio is one of the largest Radio networks in the nation. For more information log onto www.afr.net.